Did Spicer Invoke Godwin…? No.

As much as it pains me, I have to side with Spicer on this one. At today’s press conference Spicer made a Hitler comparison (alleged Godwin’s Law). He stated during a question answering that “.. even Hitler didn’t use poison gas.”. Now, to some gasps from the press corp in the room Spicer did almost immediately attempt to clarify… “…in the same manner as Assad.”

Now look… we all know invoking the typical comparison to Hitler in any given situation risks any number of public outcries. But in this case, I knew EXACTLY what Spicer was referring to in his comparison. You’d think any normally educated person would understand that his comparison was a historical reference and not one of ideological imposition, and most certainly NOT meant to disparage Jews.

Here’s the historical fact for those that are “appalled” at his remark.

Hitler was a messenger in the German Army during World War 1. The job required him to be very much in the front lines, running from trench to trench delivering dispatches. He saw what the war did, the filth, trauma, and death of trench fighting. He also witnessed first hand the devastating effects of mustard gas on human beings. He carried this mental imagery with him as he rose to power in the 1930’s and during the re-building of the German military required each and every German soldier to carry a gas mask, which they did regardless of any real threat of the Allies using any such weaponry. The average soldier was NEVER to be without it (unlike the allied armies who were not required to carry personal gas masks). In the same vein, the German military of WW2 did not use any poison gas as a widespread offensive weapon on the battlefield. YES.. they did indeed use Zyklon-B in their genocide program and Zyklon-B is indeed a poison gas. But it was developed as an insecticide and delousing agent, and it’s disbursement properties and three month shelf life didn’t lend itself for practical use as a battlefield weapon even if it were chosen for such use.

(now, don’t dredge up some History Channel re-counting of some secret Nazi poison gas experiments for offensive battlefield weaponry that never saw use as a common strategic application)

Spicer made a correct historicalcomparison… although likely not politically correct for those who are not too well-briefed on history beyond the idea that “Hitler is the worst human being since the beginning of time.” History has given us Hitler as being the baseline for measuring the villainy in others, whether we like it or not.

Get over it.

(Oh, wait.. did I just say, “Get over it.” as some insensitive comment at the expense of everyone who was killed by Hitler in the gas chambers?? Was I suggesting “Get over it.” as in getting over World War II?? No, dumbass. I said, “Get over it” meaning accepting that we learn from history in many ways and to just shut out a time in history as being so repulsive to humanity that we can’t even reference factual comparisons just foments ignorance. The fact IS.. Hitler was just not some villain who popped on the scene to kill Jews. Events formed him, his own opinions, and his rise to power. Get over the political correctness. Assad has and still does use poison gas as a strategic weapon on a wide scale. Hitler did not. Hitler in fact killed millions with poison gas in regulated death camps. Thus far, Assad has not. Comparison over.)

Words indeed matter, but not as much as interpreting them accurately by using common sense. There are far more important things to worry about than trying to idiotically validate if Spicer is some anti-Semite because he made some historically accurate Hitler comparison.

Yes.. get over it.

(News Update: General (Secretary of Defense)Mattes, in a Pentagon press conference just happening, just said, “There was no battlefield use of poison gas in World War II. ” and he went on to add it was basically the universal adherence to international treaty as a result of WWI.. which Assad has violated.)

4 Comments

I agree with your comments, Doug. The gassing of the Jews during the Holocaust was not a battlefield weapon, nor used on civilian populations. However, his choice of comparison was flawed, to say the least. And I am being kind here, I think you will agree.
Best wishes, Pete.